"Guilt By Association..."

This article in The Nation is a must-read. A recent Supreme Court ruling defines giving "material support" to terrorists as not just what we would normally associate with that term -- donating money, giving instruction how to build bombs, etc -- but also anything that lends such a group credibility. The article describes how former President Jimmy Carter could technically be charged under this law. (I would also add Bill Clinton, who met with Kim Jong Il to secure the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.)

It also has been ruled to apply to NGOs and aid organizations, even when they are trying to teach such a group how to progress in a non-violent way. But by definition, it could also be applied to any journalist who interviewed insurgents in Iraq (Michael Ware comes to mind, obviously) or worked with possible Taliban-sympathizers in Afghanistan (Rory Stewart? Deep trouble...) and that's not even getting into terror-groups-turned-political-factions, like the IRA or Hezbollah.

Guilt by association: how the US Supreme Court

let fear overshadow common sense

Jere Van Dyk

This is chilling... I had not heard his story before:

From Publishers Weekly

An American journalist exploring the war zone on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border reports unwanted lessons in its perils in this harrowing memoir. Having traveled with the freedom fighters in the '80s, Van Dyk thought he had the connections and knowledge to navigate the tribal lands between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but he was captured by a fractious band of Taliban fighters in 2008. Van Dyk (In Afghanistan: An American Odyssey) and his Afghan guides spent 44 days in a dark cell. Well-fed but terrified, he felt a nightmare of helplessness and disorientation. Dependent on a jailer who mixed solicitude with jocular death threats and a ruthless Taliban commander who could free or kill him on a whim, the author performed Muslim prayers in an attempt to appease his captors; wary of murky conspiracies involving his cellmates, he was afraid of everybody, including the children. Van Dyk's claustrophobic narrative jettisons journalistic detachment and views his ordeal through the distorting emotions of fear, shame, and self-pity. But in telling his story this way, he brings us viscerally into the mental universe of the Taliban, where paranoia and fanaticism reign, and survival requires currying favor with powerful men. The result is a gripping tale of endurance and a vivid evocation of Afghanistan's grim realities. 1 map. (June 22)

He appeared on The Daily Show last night:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Jere Van Dyk
www.thedailyshow.com
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A Year At War: Chronicling One Battalion's Deployment to Afghanistan

Over the course of the next year, The New York Times will be visiting First Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, based in Kunduz Province, Afghanistan, "to chronicle its part in the surge and explore the strains of deployment on soldiers, many fresh out of basic training, others on their fifth combat tour in nine years."

This series should be required reading for all Americans. It personalizes the war effort and brings home a little of the reality and sacrifices, the soldiers and their families face.

The first article in the series is titled "Leaving the Family Behind". There is also a great interactive feature, where you are introduced to the soldiers via photos and videos. It will be amazing to follow their mission and hear their thoughts throughout the year.

Richard Engel: "A Father's Mission"

Richard Engel had a terrific special on Dateline tonight about Chosen Company and the Battle of Wanat. Check it out on their website.

Tim Hetherington NYT Lens blog interview

Tim Hetherington explains more about making his film "Restrepo" and his new book "Infidel". Very interesting to hear more of the back story behind it.